Determining a policy parameter for an entity of a supply chain

ABSTRACT

Determining a policy parameter for an entity of a supply chain includes establishing attributes of the entities of the supply chain. Attribute segments are established for each attribute, where an attribute segment includes one or more values of the corresponding attribute. Rules are formulated using the attribute segments to define policy groups, and policy parameters are assigned to each policy group. A policy group corresponding to an entity is identified in accordance with the rules. The policy parameters assigned to the identified policy group are determined and selected for the entity.

CLAIM OF PRIORITY

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.10/836,041, filed on 29 Apr. 2004 and entitled “Determining a policyparameter for an entity of a supply chain,” which claims the benefitunder 35 U.S.C. §119(e) of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No.60/470,068, filed 12 May 2003 and entitled “Strategic InventoryOptimization.”

BACKGROUND

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/836,041 and U.S. ProvisionalApplication Ser. No. 60/470,068 are commonly assigned to the assignee ofthe present application. The disclosure of related U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 10/836,041 and U.S. Provisional Application Ser.No. 60/470,068 are hereby incorporated by reference into the presentdisclosure as if fully set forth herein.

1. Technical Field of the Invention

This invention relates generally to the field of supply chain analysisand more specifically to determining a policy parameter for an entity ofa supply chain.

2. Background of the Invention

A supply chain supplies a product to a customer. Items needed to producethe product may pass through the supply chain according to policyparameters set for the items. A known technique for determining thepolicy parameters for items may involve segmenting the items into groupsaccording to predefined features and then applying specific policyparameters to the groups. Known techniques for determining policyparameters, however, do not provide for effective segmentation of items.It is generally desirable to effectively segment items to determinepolicy parameters.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with the present invention, disadvantages and problemsassociated with previous supply chain analysis techniques may be reducedor eliminated.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, determining apolicy parameter for an entity of a supply chain includes establishingattributes of the entities of the supply chain. Attribute segments areestablished for each attribute, where an attribute segment includes oneor more values of the corresponding attribute. Rules are formulatedusing the attribute segments to define policy groups, and policyparameters are assigned to each policy group. A policy groupcorresponding to an entity is identified in accordance with the rules.The policy parameters assigned to the identified policy group aredetermined and selected for the entity.

Certain embodiments of the invention may provide one or more technicaladvantages. For example, attribute segments may be used to form policygroups that have associated policy parameters. Entities of a supplychain may be placed into policy groups according to the attributesegments. Policy parameters may be applied to the entities of the policygroups. Defining policy groups in such a manner may allow for effectiveand efficient selection of policy parameters for the entities of asupply chain. Displays may allow a user to efficiently defineattributes, attribute segments, and policy groups. Logical rules may beapplied to the attribute segments to effectively define the policygroups. Displays may allow a user to efficiently establish policyparameters for the policy groups.

Certain embodiments of the invention may include none, some, or all ofthe above technical advantages. One or more other technical advantagesmay be readily apparent to one skilled in the art from the figures,descriptions, and claims included herein.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a more complete understanding of the present invention and itsfeatures and advantages, reference is made to the following description,taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example system for determiningpolicy parameters for entities of a supply chain;

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating an example method for determiningpolicy parameters for entities of a supply chain;

FIG. 3 illustrates an example matrix that may be used to organize policygroups;

FIG. 4 illustrates an example display for creating attribute segments;

FIG. 5 illustrates an example display for generating a policy group fromsegment attributes;

FIG. 6 illustrates an example display for displaying policy parametersfor policy groups; and

FIG. 7 illustrates an example display for viewing more detailedinformation about a policy group.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example system 10 fordetermining policy parameters for entities of a supply chain. Forexample, system may be used to establish attributes that describeentities such as the items that flow through the supply chain. Eachattribute may have attribute segments that correspond to values that anattribute may have. The attribute segments may be used to define policygroups with associated policy parameters. The entities may be placedinto the policy groups according to the attribute segments. The policyparameters of a policy group may be selected for the entities belongingto the policy group.

According to one embodiment, a supply chain receives supplies from oneor more suppliers and provides products to one or more customers. Asupply chain may include any suitable number of nodes and any suitablenumber of arcs between the nodes, configured in any suitable manner. Thesupply chain may have entities such as customers, items, locations,channels, or any other entity. Items may comprise, for example, productsor parts or supplies that may be used to generate products. An item maycomprise a part of the product, or an item may comprise a supply that isused to manufacture the product, but does not become a part of theproduct. The nodes of a supply chain may comprise, for example,locations where items are processed or where products are provided to acustomer.

Different entities may have different inventory policies. For example,the different risks of stockouts for items may result in differentinventory policies applied to the items. As another example, inventorylocations may have to maintain different inventory levels to satisfydifferent contractual requirements. As yet another example, theinventory associated with a sales channel may depend on specific buyingpatterns and lead time expectations of customers.

A policy group comprises a set of entities strategically segmented for aparticular purpose. According to one embodiment, a policy group mayrefer to a criticality group for which a service level policy isdefined. A service level policy describes the level of service for anentity, and may include a customer service level, a lead time, or otherparameter. As an example, segmentation may classify customers intocriticality groups, where each criticality group has a specifiedcustomer service level. Criticality groups may be used to definedifferent service levels for different customers. According to anotherembodiment, a policy group may refer to a buying behavior group thatincludes entities with a common buying behavior. According to anotherembodiment, a policy group may refer to an order lead time group thatthat includes entities with a common order lead time.

The entities of a supply chain may be sorted into policy groups in orderto determine policy parameters for the entities. The entities may besorted in any suitable manner. For example, the entities may be sortedby item such that each item may be placed into a different policy group.As another example, the entities may be sorted by item and location suchthat the same items at different locations may be placed in differentpolicy groups. As yet another example, the entities may be sorted byitem, location, and channel such that the same items at the samelocation but associated with different channels may be placed indifferent policy groups. Once the entities have been sorted into policygroups, the policy parameters of the policy groups are applied to theentities of the groups.

According to the illustrated embodiment, system 10 includes a clientsystem 20, a server system 24, and a database 26 coupled as shown.Client system 20 allows a user to communicate with server system 24 todetermine policy parameters for entities of a supply chain. Serversystem 24 manages applications for determining policy parameters forentities of a supply chain. Database 26 stores data that may be used byserver system 24. According to the illustrated embodiment, server system24 includes a processor 30 and one or more engines 32 coupled as shown.Processor 30 manages the operation of server system 24, and may compriseany device operable to accept input, process the input according topredefined rules, and produce an output. According to the illustratedembodiment, engines 32 includes an attribute engine 40, a policy groupengine 42, and a policy parameter engine 44.

Attribute engine 40 may be used to generate attributes and correspondingattribute segments. An attribute may describe an entity of the supplychain, and may comprise any feature that may be used to distinguishentities that have different policy parameters. Examples of attributesmay include, for example, a volume of an item, a hub agreement withrespect to an item, or a life cycle stage of an item. An attributesegment may comprise one or more values that an attribute may have, andmay be used to distinguish entities that have different policyparameters. For example, a volume attribute may have volume segmentssuch as high volume, medium volume, and low volume.

An attribute may have attribute segments expressed in any suitableformat, for example, numeric, string, or Boolean format. For example, anumeric attribute may have attribute segments expressed as numeric valueranges such as absolute value ranges. Relative attribute segments may beexpressed as relative values or as percentages of the entities. As anexample, for a volume attribute, a fast volume segment may be defined as0-80% of the volume, a medium segment may be defined as 80-90% of thevolume, and a slow segment may be defined as 90-100% of the volume.Attribute segments of string attributes may be expressed as a stringrepresented by buckets. Boolean attribute segments for a Booleanattribute may be expressed as a positive value indicating that theBoolean attribute is satisfied or a negative value indicating that theBoolean attribute is not satisfied.

According to one embodiment, attribute engine 40 may, alone or incooperation with one or more other appropriate components of system 10,generate a display that includes fields into which a user may input anattribute and corresponding attribute segments. By entering theattributes and attribute segments into the fields, a user may send arequest to attribute engine 40 to generate the attributes with thecorresponding attribute segments. Any suitable attribute with anysuitable attribute segments may be defined using attribute engine 40. Anexample display for generating attributes and corresponding attributesegments is described with reference to FIG. 4.

Policy group engine 42 generates and prioritizes policy groups andassigns policy parameters to the policy groups. A policy group may beused to organize entities and to determine policy parameters for theentities. Policy groups may be generated from attribute segments of anattribute. For example, attributes may include a customer diversityattribute describing the number of customers for an item, and a volumeand revenue attribute describing the volume and revenue of an item.

Policy groups may be generated by formulating rules from the attributesegments. A rule may comprise one or more attribute segments and one ormore logical operators applied to the attribute segments, and may beformed by applying logical operators to the attribute segments. Forexample, a rule “attribute segment A and attribute segment B” may beused to define a policy group that includes entities that have attributesegments A and B. Policy groups generated from the above attributesegments may include, for example, a high customer diversity and a highvolume and revenue policy group, a low customer diversity and a highvolume and revenue policy group, a high customer diversity and a lowvolume and revenue policy group, and a low customer diversity and a lowvolume and revenue policy group. Any suitable rule, however, may beformulated.

Policy groups may be prioritized to resolve situations in which anentity corresponds to more than one policy group. If an entity belongsto a policy group with a higher priority and a policy group with a lowerpriority, the policy parameters of the policy group with the higherpriority may be selected for the entity. Any other prioritized selectionprocedure, however, may be used to resolve these situations.

Policy group engine 42 may, alone or in cooperation with one or moreother appropriate components of system 10, generate a display thatincludes fields in which a user may input rules and priorities. The usermay enter the rules and priorities into the fields to generate a requestto policy group engine 42 to generate and prioritize a policy group. Anexample display for generating and prioritizing policy groups isdescribed with reference to FIG. 5.

Policy group engine 42 may assign policy parameters to the policygroups. A policy parameter may be used to define an inventory policy fora policy group. Examples of policy parameters may include, for example,a customer service level, a minimum offered lead time, or a maximumoffered lead time.

Each policy group may have different strategies that may requiredifferent forecasting techniques as well as inventory managementpolicies. Strategic segmentation into policy groups may influence notjust target customer service levels and offered lead times, but can beone factor to drive different rule-based, statistical, or heuristictechniques in demand planning and demand forecasting. According to oneembodiment, for high volume and stable demand, statistical time-seriesforecasting for best fit may be appropriate, whereas for slower movingand more volatile items, a heuristic rule-based technique may be moreappropriate. For inventory management policies, for example, a highcustomer diversity and high volume and revenue policy group mayrepresent items that are built-to-forecast to maximize availability andminimize lead time. A low customer diversity and high volume and revenuepolicy group may represent items for which a supplier collaborates witha customer to minimize uncertainty and risk. A high customer diversityand low volume and revenue policy group may represent items for which aproduction postponement strategy is implemented. The low customerdiversity and low revenue and volume policy group may represent partsfor which a build-to-order strategy is used. According to anotherembodiment, entities may be micro-segmented into policy groups. Thepolicy groups may exhibit a pattern, which may be used to select anappropriate forecasting technique that may provide the best forecast.

Policy group engine 42 may, alone or in cooperation with one or moreother appropriate components of system 10, generate a display thatallows a user to define policy parameters for the policy groups. Byentering the policy parameters into the field, a user may provide arequest to policy group engine 42 to assign the policy parameters to thepolicy groups. The policy groups and policy parameters may be organizedin a matrix. An example display for displaying a matrix describingpolicy parameters is described with reference to FIG. 6.

Policy parameter engine 44 determines policy parameters for the entitiesof a supply chain in accordance with the policy groups. According to oneembodiment, policy parameter engine 44 determines one or more policygroups corresponding to an entity. An entity may correspond to a policygroup if the attribute segments of the policy group describe the entity.If an entity corresponds to more than one policy group, the policyparameters of the policy group with the higher priority may be selectedfor the entity.

Client system 20 and server system 24 may each operate on one or morecomputers at one or more locations and may include appropriate inputdevices, output devices, mass storage media, processors, memory, orother components for receiving, processing, storing, and communicatinginformation according to the operation of system 10. For example, thepresent invention contemplates the functions of both client system 20and server system 24 being provided using a single computer system, suchas a single personal computer. As used in this document, the term“computer” refers to any suitable device operable to accept input,process the input according to predefined rules, and produce output, forexample, a server, workstation, personal computer, network computer,wireless telephone, personal digital assistant, one or moremicroprocessors within these or other devices, or any other suitableprocessing device. Database 26 may include any suitable data storagearrangement and may operate on one or more computers at one or morelocations.

Client system 20, server system 24, and database 26 may be integrated orseparated according to particular needs. Client system 20, server system24, and database 26 may be coupled to each other using one or morecomputer buses, local area networks (LANs), metropolitan area networks(MANs), wide area networks (WANs), a global computer network such as theInternet, or any other appropriate wireline, optical, wireless, or otherlinks.

In summary, an embodiment of system 10 may provide a graphical solutionthat allows a user to easily determine policy parameters for entities ofa supply chain. System 10 provides displays that allow the user toeasily define any suitable attributes, segments, or rules to generateany suitable policy groups. The policy groups may be used to easilydetermine a policy parameter for an entity of the supply chain.

Modifications, additions, or omissions may be made to system 10 withoutdeparting from the scope of the invention. For example, system 10 mayhave more, fewer, or other modules. Moreover, the operations of system10 may be performed by more, fewer, or other modules. For example, theoperations of attribute engine 40 and policy group engine 42 may beperformed by one module, or the operations of policy group engine 42 maybe performed by more than one module. Additionally, functions may beperformed using any suitable logic comprising software, hardware, otherlogic, or any suitable combination of the preceding. As used in thisdocument, “each” refers to at least one member of a set.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating an example method for determiningpolicy parameters for entities of a supply chain. The method begins atstep 100, where the entities of a supply chain are identified. An entitymay be sorted in any suitable manner, for example, by item, channel,location, or any combination of the preceding. An attribute describingthe entities is defined at step 104. The attribute may comprise afeature that may be used to form policy groups for which specific policyparameters are defined. Attribute segments are defined for the attributeat step 108. An attribute segment may comprise one or more values thatan attribute may have. For example, a volume attribute may haveattribute segments comprising high volume, medium volume, and lowvolume. If there is a next attribute at step 112, the method returns tostep 104 to define the next attribute. If there is no next attribute atstep 112, the method proceeds to step 114.

Rules are formulated from the attribute segments in order to definepolicy groups at step 114. A rule may comprise one or more attributesegments and one or more logical operators applied to the attributesegments, for example, “high volume OR hub agreement.” A default policygroup may be defined at step 118. A default policy group refers to apolicy group that corresponds to any entity that does not belong to anyof the policy groups defined at step 114. The default policy group maybe used to ensure that each entity belongs to at least one policy group.Policy parameters are assigned to the policy groups at step 122. Policyparameters may include, for example, a customer service level. Thepolicy groups are prioritized at step 126. The results are reported atstep 130. The entities are placed into corresponding policy groups atstep 132. An entity corresponds to a policy group if the attributesegments of the policy group describe the entity. Policy parameters aredetermined for the entities in accordance with the policy groups at step136. The policy parameters for a policy group may be selected for theentities corresponding to the policy group. Results are reported at step140. After reporting the results, the method ends.

Modifications, additions, or omissions may be made to the method withoutdeparting from the scope of the invention. For example, the step ofdefining a default policy group may be omitted. Additionally, steps maybe performed in any suitable order without departing from the scope ofthe invention.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example matrix Mi . . . j 66 that may be used toorganize policy groups. Matrix Mi . . . j 66 is used to segment productsinto policy groups, where each entry, or cell, mi . . . j represents apolicy group with specific policy parameters. Matrix Mi . . . j 66 mayhave any suitable number of indices i . . . j, where each indexrepresents an attribute of the entities. According to the illustratedexample, index i represents the relative speed with which items for theproduct move through the supply chain, and j represents whether there isa hub agreement with the nodes through which the items flow. An indexmay, however, represent any suitable attribute. Moreover, matrix Mi . .. j may have any suitable number of indices for any suitable number ofdimensions.

As used herein, the term “matrix” is meant to encompass any suitablearrangement of attributes in which each attribute associated with thematrix corresponds to at least one index of the matrix and maycorrespond to any number of indices of the matrix. Such a matrix mayhave any suitable format. As an example, different cells may each havedifferent indices or a different number of indices. As another example,policy groups corresponding to the cells may overlap. That is, a cellmay be associated with more than one policy group. Membership tooverlapping policy groups may be resolved by, for example, assigningpriorities to the groups such that membership to a higher prioritypolicy group takes precedence over a lower priority policy group. Asanother example, a cell may be assigned to represent a default policygroup if it has not been assigned to represent another policy group suchthat each cell represents a policy group. As another example, anattribute not corresponding to any index of the matrix may be assignedto a default policy group.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example display 200 for creating attributesegments. According to the illustrated example, display 200 may be usedto create attribute segments for an item cumulative percentage volumeattribute. Display 200, however, may be used to create attributesegments for any suitable attribute. According to one embodiment,display 200 includes a create attribute segment section 204, anattribute segment section 208, and a graphical section 210. Display 200,however, may include any suitable sections displayed in any suitablemanner.

Create attribute segment section 204 may be used to generate attributesegments defined by a user. A user may enter information into fields212. Name field 212 a and description field 212 b may be used to enterthe name and description of an attribute segment, respectively. Minimumfield 212 c and maximum field 212 d may be used to enter a minimum andmaximum value for the attribute segment, respectfully. Segmentation namefield 212 e may be used to enter a description of the feature that isused to create the attribute segments.

Attribute segment section 208 displays attribute segments for theexample item cumulative percentage volume attribute. According to theillustrated example, attribute segments comprise a high attributesegment, a medium attribute segment, and a low attribute segment. Forexample, the high attribute segment may describe high volume items withan item cumulative percentage volume between 0% and 80%, the mediumattribute segment may describe medium volume items with an itemcumulative percentage volume between 80% and 90%, and the low attributesegment may describe low volume items with an item cumulative percentvolume between 90% and 100%. According to one embodiment, if one or moreentities is not a member of any of the attribute segments, a defaultattribute segment may be defined to contain such entities. Delete button214, edit button 216, and add button 218 may be used to delete, edit,and add attribute segments, respectively.

Graphical section 210 may be used to graphically show the attributesegments or related information. In the illustrated embodiment, a curve220 represents the item cumulative percentage volume versus thepercentage of volume. A line 222 indicates the division between lowvolume items and medium volume items. A line 224 indicates the divisionbetween medium volume items and high volume items.

Display 200 may be used to create attribute segments for any suitableattribute. For example, an absolute number of customers attribute may bedefined to describe the absolute number of customers for anitem-location. Attribute segments such as a custom, a semi-custom, and acommodity attribute segment may be created for the attribute. The customattribute segment may be used to represent item-locations with only onecustomer. A semi-custom attribute segment may be used to describeitem-locations with two or three customers. A commodity attributesegment may be used to describe item-locations with more than threecustomers.

As another example, a margin attribute may describe the margin ofspecific items. Attribute segments such as a low margin attributesegment, a medium margin attribute segment, and a high margin attributesegment may be created for the attribute. A low margin attribute segmentmay represent items with a margin between 0 and 5,000,000. A mediummargin attribute segment may describe items with a margin between5,000,000 and 20,000,000. A high margin attribute segment may representitems with a margin greater than 20,000,000.

As another example, a hub agreement attribute may describe whether anitem-location has a hub agreement. Attribute segments such as a hubagreement attribute segment and a default attribute segment may becreated for the attribute. The hub agreement attribute segment maydescribe item-locations with hub agreements, and the default attributesegment may describe item locations that do not have hub agreements.

As yet another example, an item life cycle stage attribute may describewhere within a life cycle an item is located. Attribute segments such asa mature attribute segment, an early attribute segment, and anend-of-life attribute segment may be generated for the attribute. Amature attribute segment represents items that have a cycle stage of“mature.” An early attribute segment represents items that have a cyclestage of “concept,” or “prototype.” An end-of-life attribute segmentdescribes items that have a cycle stage of “end of life.”

Modifications, additions, or omissions may be made to display 200without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, display200 may have more, fewer, or other graphical elements. Moreover, theoperations of display 200 may be performed by more, fewer, or othergraphical elements arranged in any suitable manner.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example display 250 for generating a policy group,for example, a criticality group from segment attributes. According toone embodiment, display 250 includes an add/modify policy group section252, an attributes section 256, an available segments section 258, arule section 260, and a policy groups section 264. Display 250 may,however, include fewer, more, or other sections.

According to the illustrated embodiment, add/modify policy group section252 includes a group name field 270 and a description field 272 intowhich the group name and description, respectively, may be entered.Attribute section 256 allows a user to select an attribute, andavailable segments section 258 allows the user to select segmentscorresponding to the selected attribute in order to formulate a rulethat may be used to define a policy group. Attribute section 256includes a segment attributes menu 274 and logical operation selectors276. Segment attributes menu 274 displays attributes from which a usermay select. Logic operators selectors 276 may include any suitablegraphical entity that may be used to select a logical operator.According to the illustrated embodiment, logic operation selectors 276includes buttons that a user may activate in order to select an ANDoperator, an OR operator, or parentheses.

Available segments section 258 includes an attribute display 280, asegments menu 282, and a segment selector 284. Attribute display 280displays the name of the attribute selected using attributes section256. Segments menu 282 displays the segments corresponding to theselected attribute. The user may select an attribute segment usingsegment selector 284. Rule section 260 displays the rule that is beingconstructed.

Policy group section 264 displays the policy groups. Policy groupssection 264 may include a group names section 290, a description section292, a group priority section 294, and a matrix display order section296. Group name section 290 and description section 292 may be used todisplay the group name and description, respectively, of the policygroup. Group priority section 294 displays the priority of the policygroups. Matrix display order section 296 describes the order in whichthe policy groups are displayed in a matrix. An add group selector 300,and edit group selector 302, and a delete group selector 304 may be usedto add, edit, or delete, respectively, policy groups. A changeprecedence button may be used to change the priority of the policygroups.

Modifications, additions, or omissions may be made to display 250without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, display250 may have more, fewer, or other graphical elements. Moreover, theoperations of display 250 may be performed by more, fewer, or othergraphical elements arranged in any suitable manner.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example display 320 for displaying policyparameters for policy groups such as criticality groups. The examplepolicy matrix displays policy parameters for groups A, B, and C and adefault group. Group A represents high volume and mature items, group Brepresents medium volume items, group C represents low volume items, andthe default group represents any remaining items. Policy parametersinclude, for example, a target customer service level, a minimum offeredlead time, and a maximum offered lead time. The minimum offered leadtime may attempt to position inventory so that orders are promised withat least the minimum lead time but not with a shorter lead time. Themaximum offered lead time may attempt to position inventory so that noorders are promised with a lead time longer than the maximum lead time.A group may be selected in order to display more detailed informationabout the group. In the illustrated embodiment, group B is selected.

Display 320 may include selectors such as a view members selector 322, agenerate matrix selector 324, a configure matrix selector 326, a viewrules selector 328, and a set attributes selector 330. View membersselector 322 may be used to display the members of the policy groupsshown in display 320. Generate matrix selector 324 may be used togenerate a policy matrix. Configure matrix selector 326 may be used toselect and organize the information presented in the matrix. View rulesselector 328 may be used to view the rules used to define the policygroups. Set attributes selector 330 may be used to display a displaythat may be used to define attributes and corresponding attributesegments.

Modifications, additions, or omissions may be made to display 320without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, display320 may have more, fewer, or other graphical elements. Moreover, theoperations of display 320 may be performed by more, fewer, or othergraphical elements arranged in any suitable manner.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example display 350 for viewing more detailedinformation about a policy group such as a criticality group. Accordingto the illustrated embodiment, detailed information is provided aboutgroup B. Display 350 may include a group statistics section 360, anitem-location-channel listing 362, an attribute segment listing 366, anda target group selector 368. Group statistics section 360 may presentstatistics related to the group. According to the illustratedembodiment, group statistics section 360 describes the total number ofitem-location-channels, the number of item-location-channels in thisgroup, and the percentage of item-location-channels in the selectedgroup. Item-location-channel listing 362 displays the lists ofitem-location-channels. Segment attribute section 366 lists theattribute segments of the item-location-channels listed in 362. Targetgroup selected 368 may be used to select a group to which the displayedgroup may be merged.

Modifications, additions, or omissions maybe made to display 350 withoutdeparting from the scope of the invention. For example, display 350 mayhave more, fewer, or other graphical elements. Moreover, the operationsof display 350 may be performed by more, fewer, or other graphicalelements arranged in any suitable manner.

Certain embodiments of the invention may provide one or more technicaladvantages. For example, attribute segments may be used to form policygroups that have associated policy parameters. Entities of a supplychain may be placed into policy groups according to the attributesegments. Policy parameters may be applied to the entities of the policygroups. Defining policy groups in such a manner may allow for effectiveand efficient selection of policy parameters for the entities of asupply chain. Displays may allow a user to efficiently defineattributes, attribute segments, and policy groups. Logical rules may beapplied to the attribute segments to effectively define the policygroups. Displays may allow a user to efficiently establish policyparameters for the policy groups.

Although an embodiment of the invention and its advantages are describedin detail, a person skilled in the art could make various alterations,additions, and omissions without departing from the spirit and scope ofthe present invention as defined by the appended claims.

1. A computer-implemented method for determining one or more policyparameters of one or more entities of a supply chain, comprising:storing information about a supply chain in one or more databases;generating, by a computer, a display having one or more user inputfields; receiving, by the computer, a user input from at least one ofthe one or more user input fields specifying one or more attributes ofone or more entities of the supply chain; receiving, by the computer, auser input from at least one of the one or more user input fieldsspecifying one or more attribute segments for each correspondingattribute, each attribute segment comprising one or more values of thecorresponding attribute; graphically displaying, by the computer, theone or more attribute segments; generating, by the computer, one or morepolicy groups based on one or more attribute segments of an attribute;and assigning, by the computer, one or more policy parameters to the oneor more policy groups.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein one or more ofthe attributes is a volume of an item.
 3. The method of claim 1, whereinone or more of the attributes is a hub agreement with respect to anitem.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein one of more of the attributes isa lifecycle stage of an item.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein one ormore of the attribute segments is expressed in a numeric format.
 6. Themethod of claim 1, wherein one or more of the attribute segments isexpressed in string format.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein one ormore of the attribute segments is expressed in Boolean format.
 8. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising formulating one or more rules usedto define one or more policy groups.
 9. The method of claim 8, whereinthe one or more rules comprises one or more attribute segments and oneor more logical operators applied to the one or more attribute segments.10. The method of claim 1, further comprising defining a defaultattribute segment if one or more of the entities is not a member of anyof the attribute segments input by the user.
 11. The method of claim 1,wherein the one or more attribute segments that is graphically displayedis a custom, a semi-custom, or a commodity attribute segment for acorresponding attribute.
 12. A system comprising a computer processorfor determining one or more policy parameters of one or more entities ofa supply chain, comprising: one or more databases storing informationabout a supply chain; and a computer system coupled with the one or moredatabases, the computer system programmed to: generate a display havingone or more user input fields; receive a user input from at least one ofthe one or more user input fields specifying one or more attributes ofthe one or more entities of the supply chain; receive a user input fromat least one of the one or more user input fields specifying one or moreattribute segments for each corresponding attribute, each attributesegment comprising one or more values of the corresponding attribute;graphically display the one or more attribute segments; generate one ormore policy groups based on one or more attribute segments of anattribute; and assign one or more policy parameters to the one or morepolicy groups.
 13. The system of claim 12, wherein one or more of theattributes is a volume of an item.
 14. The system of claim 12, whereinone or more of the attributes is a hub agreement with respect to anitem.
 15. The system of claim 12, wherein one of more of the attributesis a lifecycle stage of an item.
 16. The system of claim 12, wherein oneor more of the attribute segments is expressed in a numeric format. 17.The system of claim 12, wherein one or more of the attribute segments isexpressed in string format.
 18. The system of claim 12, wherein one ormore of the attribute segments is expressed in Boolean format.
 19. Thesystem of claim 12, wherein the computer system is further programmed toformulate one or more rules used to define one or more policy groups.20. The system of claim 19, wherein the one or more rules comprises oneor more attribute segments and one or more logical operators applied tothe one or more attribute segments.
 21. The system of claim 12, whereinthe computer system is further programmed to define a default attributesegment if one or more of the entities is not a member of any of theattribute segments input by the user.
 22. The system of claim 12,wherein the one or more attribute segments that is graphically displayedis a custom, a semi-custom, or a commodity attribute segment for acorresponding attribute.
 23. A computer-readable storage medium embodiedwith software to determine one or more policy parameters of one or moreentities of a supply chain, the software when executed, using one ormore computers is configured to: access information about a supply chainthat is stored in one or more databases; generate a display having oneor more user input fields; receive a user input from at least one of theone or more user input fields specifying one or more attributes of theone or more entities of the supply chain; receive a user input from atleast one of the one or more user input fields specifying one or moreattribute segments for each corresponding attribute, each attributesegment comprising one or more values of the corresponding attribute;graphically display the one or more attribute segments; generate one ormore policy groups based on one or more attribute segments of anattribute; and assign one or more policy parameters to the one or morepolicy groups.
 24. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 23,wherein one or more of the attributes is a volume of an item.
 25. Thecomputer-readable storage medium of claim 23, wherein one or more of theattributes is a hub agreement with respect to an item.
 26. Thecomputer-readable storage medium of claim 23, wherein one of more of theattributes is a lifecycle stage of an item.
 27. The computer-readablestorage medium of claim 23, wherein one or more of the attributesegments is expressed in a numeric format.
 28. The computer-readablestorage medium of claim 23, wherein one or more of the attributesegments is expressed in string format.
 29. The computer-readablestorage medium of claim 23, wherein one or more of the attributesegments is expressed in Boolean format.
 30. The computer-readablestorage medium of claim 23, wherein the software is further configuredto formulate one or more rules used to define one or more policy groups.31. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 30, wherein the one ormore rules comprises one or more attribute segments and one or morelogical operators applied to the one or more attribute segments.
 32. Thecomputer-readable storage medium of claim 23, wherein the software isfurther configured to define a default attribute segment if one or moreof the entities is not a member of any of the attribute segments inputby the user.
 33. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 23,wherein the one or more attribute segments that is graphically displayedis a custom, a semi-custom, or a commodity attribute segment for acorresponding attribute.